Policy Backgrounders

Higher Education in Focus: Recent Federal Scrutiny Explained

May 16, 2025

Scrutiny of US universities has intensified in recent months as President Trump ramped up efforts to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and combat antisemitism on campuses. A handful of early Executive Orders from the President set the stage for increased oversight and challenges directed at several universities, most notably Columbia and Harvard.

• President Trump’s priorities around combating antisemitism and dismantling DEI practices have resulted in investigations at more than 60 universities and cancelations of billions in federal funding dollars to universities.
• The Administration’s enforcement efforts have also led to the cancelation of thousands of student visas and more than 100 lawsuits in response.
• New lawsuits have been filed against the federal government by Harvard University, the American Association of University Professors, and students to prevent and overturn the Trump Administration’s actions.
• The ongoing activities are aligned with President Trump’s stated goal of reforming higher education and will undoubtedly impact the sector far into the future.  

Background

In recent years, public trust in higher education has significantly declined due to rising costs and lower outcomes. However, 2023 saw two pivotal events that escalated criticism of higher education institutions driven by ideological discourse. First, in June 2023, the US Supreme Court overturned the use of affirmative action in college admissions, catalyzing a growing anti-DEI movement across the country. Since then, 134 bills have been introduced in 29 states seeking to dismantle DEI on college campuses, including bans on DEI offices and staff, mandatory training, courses, diversity statements, and identity-based admissions. President Trump disavowed DEI during his campaign, including it as a target in his "20 core promises to Make America Great Again." Among the historic number of Executive Orders issued on his inauguration day in 2025 was one aimed at eliminating all federal support for DEI, which launched widespread federal investigations and enforcement actions into the higher education community.

Later in 2023, the Hamas-led attack on Israel and retaliatory response sparked protests on college campuses across the United States that were largely pro-Palestinian. These events also led to a significant rise in antisemitic activity on college campuses where more than 1,400 incidents were reported. College leaders continue to face significant backlash for the tense climate on campuses across the country. Several states passed laws aimed at confronting antisemitism; a bipartisan group of 23 Members of Congress wrote a letter to urge the US Commission on Civil Rights to launch an investigation into the rise of antisemitism on college campuses; and US House Speaker Mike Johnson launched an initiative to investigate antisemitic activities specifically in relation to universities and nonprofit organizations that receive any form of federal benefits. President Trump had also pledged to curb antisemitism during his campaign and issued a Combating Antisemitism Executive Order in his second week in office.

Despite sweeping actions from the President and consistent calls from other political leaders to punish and hold universities accountable, there has been significant opposition from students, faculty, and other stakeholders, prompting several lawsuits.

Actions from the President and Federal Agencies

Following President Trump's Executive Orders, his Administration moved swiftly to act. By February 2025, federal grants to many universities were canceled primarily due to DEI and antisemitism allegations, though some cuts also related to transgender and health responses that conflict with the Administration's priorities. On March 14, 2025, the Department of Education launched investigations into 45 universities for allegations of race-exclusionary activities which it considers discriminatory and illegal based on Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. To further purge DEI from the higher education sector, President Trump issued an Executive Order in April 2025 to reform higher education accreditation, asserting that it fuels the practice by forcing the adoption of DEI practices. In response, many universities have ended DEI programs and positions and scaled back DEI rhetoric, though funding freezes and cancelations continue.

Federal research grants at universities were also canceled in response to the President's Executive Order to combat antisemitism. Additionally, the Department of Justice formed a multi-agency Task Force together with the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services. On February 28, 2025, the Federal Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism released a list of 10 universities targeted for site visits as part of an investigation into "allegations that the schools may have failed to protect Jewish students and faculty members from unlawful discrimination." In March, the Department of Education sent warning letters to an expanded list of 60 universities currently under investigation for allegations of antisemitic discrimination and harassment under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.

The administration has also targeted international students directly for alleged involvement in campus demonstrations, revoking visas and, in some cases, attempting to deport them. Students accused of engaging in pro-Palestinian activity, including writing op-eds, were initially targeted. The State Department later expanded the focus to all foreign students who have had interactions with the law including for minor infractions such as reckless driving, resulting in the cancellation of thousands of visas. On April 30, 2025, Secretary Rubio announced a zero-tolerance policy toward temporary visa holders warning "The State Department now reviews law-enforcement information and will instantly revoke visas of students found to have supported terrorists or otherwise abused our hospitality." 

The scrutiny of universities has been far-reaching, impacting many schools. Columbia and Harvard have been the most prominently affected, each experiencing vastly different outcomes thus far.

Columbia University

The Federal Joint Task Force to Combat Antisemitism escalated school-specific enforcement on March 7, 2025 by announcing an immediate freeze of $400 million in federal grants and contracts to Columbia University. This was due to the Task Force's perception of inaction by the university regarding antisemitism on campus and their requested remedies. The unprecedented move was also intended to serve as a warning to the entire education community to comply with the Task Force's efforts, as stated in the announcement. The Task Force sent a follow-up letter to Columbia University on March 13, 2025 detailing nine next steps the university must take to restore funding and maintain the overall federal funding relationship with the government, which exceeds $5 billion. The actions include implementing a mask ban; updating campus rules and policies; holding student groups accountable; abolishing the University Judicial Board and placing disciplinary powers under the Office of the President; strengthening enforcement authority of campus security; establishing a plan to comprehensively reform admissions; and placing the Middle East, South Asian, and African Studies department under academic receivership for a minimum of five years.  

The university acquiesced. Columbia launched a webpage to track institutional action relating to the investigation and detailed actions in a letter to the federal government. In response, the Task Force issued a statement of encouragement that the school's steps comply with the preconditions to restore the federal funding relationship. Columbia's reforms were then put to the test on May 7, 2025 when pro-Palestinian demonstrators attempted to protest in the university's library. The school's security and administrators took swift action, including calling in the New York Police Department resulting in nearly 80 arrests and praise from the federal Task Force for quelling the event.

Some students expressed fear from the library incident but the university's action drew criticism from a number of school community members including the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) at Columbia who wrote a letter condemning the university's action. The AAUP currently has a lawsuit against the Trump administration for its freeze on funding which the association asserts is a tactic to suppress speech. Members of the Columbia University faculty have also protested federal actions and demands.

Harvard University

In early spring, the Federal Task Force on Antisemitism sent an initial letter to announce an investigation for antisemitism and two follow-up letters listing requirements the university needed to meet. Harvard's legal counsel declined to accept the proposed agreement and the university's president wrote an open letter to the school community stating the "University will not surrender its independence of relinquish its constitutional rights." The statement says the letters from the government "makes it clear that the intention is not to work with us to address antisemitism in a cooperative and constructive manner… the majority [of demands] represent direct governmental regulation of the 'intellectual conditions' at Harvard."  

The task force met the university's refusal with a freeze of $2.2 billion in federal funding to the school, leading the school to file a lawsuit to restore funds. The letters outline demands to address antisemitism and eliminate DEI including reforming governance and leadership, student discipline and accountability, international and merit-based hiring and admission, programs that "fuel antisemitic harassment" or support DEI, and transparency and monitoring. Harvard has publicly listed steps and practices that have been undertaken to address concerns around antisemitism in response to the administration's rebukes but remains resolute on rejecting the demands insisting that "Consistent with the law and with our own values, we continue to pursue needed reforms… But Harvard will not surrender its core, legally-protected principles out of fear of unfounded retaliation by the federal government."  The university president's response has been widely supported by students, alumni, and faculty who pledged 10 percent of their salaries to continue defending the school against the federal government attacks. Most recently, Harvard’s president volunteered a 25 percent cut to his own salary for fiscal year 2026 in response to the ongoing challenges.

The school's responses continue to be met with escalated threats and punishments from the federal government. On May 12, the taskforce announced an additional $450 million cut in grants to Harvard. President Trump has repeatedly threatened to revoke Harvard's tax-exempt status, prompting Democratic Members of Congress to request an investigation to question the President's authority to do so. The President has also suggested taxing Harvard's endowment, the largest among higher education institution at $53.2 billion, which inspired Congressional Republicans to propose a large tax hike on university endowments in the latest House Ways and Means Committee tax bill.

Foreign Funding Oversight

President Trump also seeks to strengthen foreign funding transparency at universities as another tenant of his effort to reform higher education. On April 23, 2025, the President issued an Executive Order on Transparency Regarding Foreign Influence at American Universities which calls on the Secretary of Education to enforce section 1011f of title 20, United States Code, to ensure full disclosure of foreign funding by institutions of higher education. Current law requires higher education institutions to report foreign gifts, contracts, or funding valued at $250,000 or more to the US Secretary of Education. On March 27, 2025, the House of Representatives passed the Deterrent Act to lower the reporting threshold to $50,000 in general and $0 for "countries of concern" including China. The Administration contends that many universities fail to comply and claims the previous Administration rolled back enforcement efforts. By early May, University of California, Berkeley, Harvard, and the University of Pennsylvania were currently under investigation for alleged violations with the threat of federal funding freezes for noncompliance.

Legal Challenges and Opposition

The unprecedented actions of President Trump and his Administration have been met by lawsuits, legal challenges, and opposition statements from stakeholders throughout the higher education community and beyond. In February, the American Association of University Professors joined other organizations to file a lawsuit against the Trump Administration charging that the anti-DEI Executive Order violates the constitution and threatens academic freedom. A federal judge in Maryland granted an injunction to temporarily block the executive order but an appeals court later lifted the injunction, allowing the enforcement of the order. Still, lawsuits continue to be filed in response to the Administration's funding freezes and new policies that impact higher education.

Advocates and students are also pursuing legal action to challenge visa cancelations, arrests, deportations, and the overall environment created by federal enforcement efforts. More than 100 lawsuits were filed by students whose visas were terminated, resulting in more than 50 restraining orders and reverse action by the Trump Administration. Two Cornell University graduate students and a professor filed a lawsuit against the federal government for the enforcement activities in response to the National Security and Combatting Antisemitism Executive Orders. Their filing argues that the orders are vague and subjective, allowing for severe penalties. The plaintiffs also express concern that officials "conflate criticism of the Israeli government and participation in pro-Palestinian advocacy - such as protests against the Israeli military's operation in Gaza - with antisemitism."

Coalitions have been formed and letters of concern disseminated by colleges and faculty groups. In April 2025, the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) issued a statement condemning recent federal actions as "government overreach and political interference now endangering American higher education." Initially endorsed by more than 150 college and university presidents, the signature list quickly grew, surpassing 600 by early May. Leaders representing some of America's most prestigious universities have developed an informal collective to discuss strategies and unyielding principles to combat the Administration's demands for higher education institutions, which has thus far agreed relinquishing academic independence is non-negotiable. Faculty or university governance bodies have passed Mutual Academic Defense Compacts (MADC) at more than 30 colleges and universities, pledging support for one another amid government actions and demands.

Of notable significance, members of the Jewish community, including those on college campuses, have also offered criticism for the President's methods to address antisemitism. More than 100 Jewish faculty members at Northwestern University challenged the US Department of Education's claim of "relentless antisemitic eruptions" at the school, asserting the allegation "does not resemble life at NU." In a letter to Northwestern's Board of Trustees, the faculty group wrote "To punish Northwestern financially or to limit academic freedom in the name of protecting Jewish students could itself spark antisemitism - and would be an injustice to those very students and an injury to American society at large." Separately, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs released a statement denouncing the Administration's approach, stating “There should be no doubt that antisemitism is rising—visible, chilling, and increasingly normalized in our public discourse, politics, and institutions. It requires urgent and consistent action by our nation’s political, academic, religious, and civic leaders. At the same time, we firmly reject the false choice between confronting antisemitism and upholding democracy. Our safety as Jews has always been tied to the rule of law, to the safety of others, to the strength of civil society, and to the protection of rights and liberties for all."

Conclusion

President Trump's priorities and commitment to reform higher education have undoubtedly disrupted the traditional relationship between higher education and the federal government. The Administration's actions have led to significant federal investigations, unprecedented funding freezes and withdrawals, and an exploration of how much influence the government can have on individual schools and the sector as a whole. The ongoing legal challenges and resistance from universities and their community members add layers of complexity. Regardless of the outcome, this historic confrontation will undoubtedly have an impact and reverberations far into the future.